Seven Real Madrid players criticised Xabi Alonso in front of board

Earlier in the week, the tumultuous tenure of Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid head coach was brought to an end. Both parties decided that a break was needed over seven months into their partnership, following last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup final.

Alonso made a promising start to life as manager, with Real Madrid having been four points clear in La Liga after winning El Clasico in October. But from then, it has been a struggle for Los Blancos, who now trail their arch rivals by the same margin – an eight-point swing.

One of the reasons attributed for Alonso’s departure was his poor relationship with some of Real Madrid’s big players. He had a high-profile run-in with Vinicius Junior during the aforementioned Clasico, while he also attracted the ire of several other members of the first team squad – who complained about him to Florentino Perez and the club’s board of directors, according to Cadena SER.

Bruno Alemany revealed that Alonso’s coaching staff that were with him at Real Madrid “knew since November there are seven players who have been criticising him before the board, directly or indirectly”, with it noted that “some of them are starters”. No specific names are mentioned.

Can Arbeloa establish a better connection with the players?

Over the last few months, there had been numerous reports of Alonso’s poor relationship with some of his players, and regardless of who was at fault, it became clear that this contributed to Real Madrid’s poor form on the pitch. As such, it will be crucial for Alvaro Arbeloa to ensure that he keeps everyone on side – but at the Bernabeu, that is absolutely easier said than done, given the big personalities that exist in the Los Blancos squad.